Montezooma Roller Coaster – Orange County Register

Fiesta Village’s return to Knott’s Berry Farm seemed incomplete without the centerpiece and impetus for the completely overhauled theme land: the reimagined Montezooma’s Revenge roller coaster.

The refreshed Fiesta Village theme land celebrating Southern California Hispanic influences with updated themes, rides, food and entertainment officially reopens today, May 26, at Buena Park Theme Park. Knott’s hosted a late night media preview of Fiesta Village on Thursday, May 25.

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Construction delays forced Knott’s to postpone the start of the new random launch sequence on the refreshed Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress roller coaster until sometime after the summer. Knott originally planned for the reimagined 1978 flywheel-launched roller coaster to debut as the centerpiece of the revamped Fiesta Village.

Visitors to the newly transformed land now descend El Camino Real as they enter the reimagined Fiesta Village inspired by Los Angeles’ Olvera Street with a redesigned market and updated stage area.

The renovated Fiesta Village is now divided into three areas – the Casa California courtyard with mission-style architecture, the Jaguar Temple area with Aztec and Mayan influences, and the Alebrijes Garden with six colorful spirit animal statues.

Mexican papel picado banners hung between buildings freshly painted in party colors. New trellises with flowering vines along the adobe-style buildings now provide shade and seating for the hot summer days ahead.

The best new additions to Fiesta Village were the colorful Alebrijes statues of animal hybrids like the jaguar rabbit, seahorse butterfly, and giraffe eagle. Magical and vibrant mythical spirit animals change color as day turns to night.

All seven rides in Fiesta Village have been refreshed as part of the land makeover. The generically named Merry-Go-Round and Wave Swinger rides were renamed Carrusel de California and Los Voladores, respectively. Los Voladores translates to The Flyers and refers to Danza de los Voladores, the ancient Mexican climbing ritual.

The superstructure of the Sol Spin thrill ride has been painted with a Mayan solar calendar theme to match the nearby pyramid-shaped temple that serves as the entrance for the Jaguar roller coaster. The legs and arm of La Revolucion’s pendulum are now wrapped in festive colors evoking the designs of spirit animals. Even the once Viking-themed Dragon Swing has swapped shields and axes for an Alebrijes-inspired paint scheme.

The 1995 Jaguar coaster is still in need of a facelift after the extensive land makeover which added an LED lighting package to the exterior of the temple.

A construction wall stood at the entrance to the Montezooma rollercoaster which was missing large segments of track, including the signature loop.

New entertainment at Fiesta Village includes Mariachi music, Alebrijes storytellers, Folklorico dancers, puppet shows and a nightly street party Calle Celebracion.

On Thursday night, Calle Celebracion featured salsa and bachata dancing, giant colorful puppets and stilt walkers throughout Fiesta Village. The energetic show meant to awaken animal spirits was punctuated with projections, flame effects and fireworks on and above the Jaguar Temple.

The parade route and small stages used by performers throughout Fiesta Village were seriously under-lit during the media preview presentation – which should be fixed while Knott’s animation team resolves the issues. preview night problems.

Dining options at the new Fiesta Village include Casa California (burritos, quesadillas and tamales), Baja Taqueria (fish tacos), Papas Mexicanas (carne asada fries) and Cantina Del Sur (cocktails and drinks). New menu items include Baja Poke Bowls, Birria Tacos and Gansito Cupcakes as well as Margarita Flights with 10 flavor options including Strawberry, Watermelon, Mango and Cucumber.

Casa California’s build-your-own burrito or daring restaurant essentially amounted to a knockoff of Chipotle. The Papas Mexicanas food stand remained a work in progress with the basics of cooking still a few weeks away.